


Piebald

by Sismyn



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Emetophobia, High School, M/M, canon-typical abuse, snake - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 17:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18760954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sismyn/pseuds/Sismyn
Summary: This was supposed to be a cute "can u imagine Alex in high school with a ball python" fic and then I had feelings that wouldn't stop, so this is Alex's experience of May to maaaybe as late as July of 2008. (By the way guys what is up with Isobel's name being wrong in the tags? I just put both. I guess it's from the 1999 show?)Happy Alex Manes Appreciation Week





	1. Before Prom

Alex knew why there were never any pets in their house, and he knew that was for the best. Being cute didn't prevent abuse, and he should know: he was goddamn adorable.

But he needed another confidante.

He had his friends, but he couldn't tell Liz and Maria _everything_. He didn't want to bother them with the shit his father put him through, and though they knew he was crushing on someone, he couldn't rant about the way Michael Guerin drove him absolutely insane without revealing who he was. That didn't seem right, whether he'd ever reciprocate or not. He didn't want to out him if he did.

God, he hoped he would.

As it was, Michael was living in their tool shed, and Alex liked to hang out with him. He couldn't really avoid discussing the abuse with him when Michael could hear the emotional yelling, despite his best efforts to keep his voice down. But Alex didn't want to scare him back to his truck bed, so he avoided the topic whenever possible.

And, of course, he couldn't talk about his massive crush on him _with_ him. That wasn't remotely an option. To tell him he wanted to kiss him and tangle his hands in his hair and rip off his clothes and do another kind of duet... No, no, it had to be... organic. Because he absolutely didn't want to scare Michael back to his truck bed.

So Alex wanted something to vent to, relatively low maintenance, that he could hide from the wrath of his father.

It was one of his other goth friends, Bertram, who gave him the idea during lunch mid-May. "Dude. I just found out people actually keep snakes as pets."

"Well, yeah?" Alex focused on the black metallic nail polish he was borrowing. He couldn't keep any at home anymore. His dad kept throwing out the bottles, and it was too expensive to keep buying replacements.

"But can you imagine, like, a pet and a weapon _and_ an accessory? Sexy."

Alex squinted at his friend. "An accessory?"

"Snake necklace," Bertram said simply, fanning himself with his papers.

He looked back down to his nails. "Weapon?"

"Poison!" he replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"So you're saying a boa constrictor wouldn't make a good necklace?"

"They get too big. I'm talking like, ball python, way smaller."

Reptiles sounded relatively low maintenance, especially compared to the beagle Mama DeLuca insistently predicted he would one day have. Alex capped the bottle and returned it to Bertram. "Where do you get them?"

His friend shrugged and stashed the nail polish away. "Reptile store two blocks down from the museum. You gonna get one?"

"Maybe. If I can afford it. I'll check it out."

"Snake'd be way cooler than that handcuff thing you've got now."

Alex balled up a piece of paper to bounce off of Bertram's head.

 

* * *

 

 

The reptile store looked much like a fish store, but the tanks were dry and had heat lamps. The air in the building was cool and the light was dim.

Alex wandered the aisles, taking in the lizards and snakes and price tags, which he thought were fair prices. But given he'd also apparently need more supplies than he thought, Alex was beginning to think maybe this was a next paycheck endeavour.

An employee caught up with him as he examined a ball python. "Morning," she said.

"Hello. It's... 3 pm."

"Really?" She laughed. "Time moves fast when there's no natural light to speak of. I'm Nora. You're, uh, not looking for a science project, are you?"

"No, no. I heard ball pythons make good pets." Alex nodded at the pale, piebald snake in the tank before him. "Do they?"

The girl brightened and immediately began to gush about snakes and snake keeping. She was clearly passionate, and Alex was happy for her. He did his best to pay attention.

It was for that reason, Nora told him, that she was going to help him, using her own discount as he checked out half an hour later. "If you ever need any help with her, my number is on the receipt. Don't be a stranger!"

Alex left with a wave, glad he'd set up his bank account where his father had no access to it. At least in that respect his brothers were useful.

Supplies and new friend under one arm and sure he'd make it to the shed without a problem, Alex headed home.

"Alex!" he heard as he passed the museum.

His stomach jumped into his throat at the sound of Michael's voice, but he swallowed it and smiled at him through his truck window. "Hey, Guerin."

Michael reached over and pushed open his passenger side door. "You want a ride?"

"If you don't mind," he said, climbing up carefully.

"I don't. Mind, I mean. What's all that?"

"Got you a roommate. I bought a snake."

"You bought one? Shit, Alex, I could have caught you one, Foster Ranch is overrun with 'em."

Alex laughed. "I'll let you know when I want a venomous rattler, but thanks."

Michael grinned at him, and Alex grinned back, feeling every bit the lovesick teenager. "What's my roommate's name, then?"

"Her name's Beagle," Alex said.

Michael glanced at him. "Isn't that a sort of dog?"

"Yes, a psychic foretold that I would have one one day. But dogs are too expensive right now, you know?"

Michael parked a little ways down and across the street from the Manes house. He nodded. "You need any help with that?"

"No thanks. You coming in?" His dad's car wasn't there, which meant he should have about two hours before he got home. Michael took his keys from the ignition, which Alex took as a yes. "You wanna grab some snacks real quick while I start setting her up?"

"Okay."

Alex handed his house keys over and went straight to the shed. Michael arrived shortly with a pair of protein bars.

"That's it?" he said, studying his face. He had to be more hungry than that.

Michael shrugged.

"Guerin, we're practically adults, a single protein bar doesn't constitute a snack." Alex gently placed Beagle in her new tank.

"Does-- Does your dad count that stuff?" he asked quietly.

"No, why-- oh." He watched Michael stare at the ground. He wasn't the only one who'd ever grown up in an abusive household. "It's all right, Guerin. My brothers still come by a lot. I could just blame them if it came to that."

Michael nodded and handed the house keys back to Alex, along with one of the protein bars, but Alex curled his hand around it. "I'll get more. Did you eat today?"

That question always seemed to startle him, even though Alex asked it virtually every time they were together. He managed a smile. "Yeah, Max and Isobel shared their lunch with me."

God he loved the Evans. That was always his answer on school days. Still, splitting two lunches three ways couldn't really be substantial, and he was sure he didn't eat breakfast and wouldn't eat dinner, so Alex made a decision.

(It wasn't that Michael had no money. He worked at the junkyard, but he was saving up for whatever he'd need at UNM. He'd told Alex as much.)

"Well, I'm hungry for pizza rolls. You're having some. I'll be back in a couple minutes."

"I-- um-- Okay."

Inside, Alex crossed his arms and watched the microwave turn. A nauseous rage bubbled up inside him. Who the hell scared Michael so bad for taking food? What kind of people counted this stuff? He pushed off the counter to raid more. Alex found some water bottles, good for both Michael and Beagle, single serving bags of chips, more of the protein bars, a couple of cookies, and he put it all in an empty grocery bag. The microwave beeped. He got himself a cup of ice water and a chilled water bottle for Michael, then balanced the plate, bag, and liquids to return to the shed.

Michael was sitting in front of the tank, watching Beagle with fascination. Alex put the bag beside the tank and offered him the cold water bottle.

"Thank you," he said. He'd never seen somebody chug half a bottle like that before. "The snake is cute."

"Cute?" That wasn't what he was going for, and he'd never thought of reptiles being cute, but Alex looked at Beagle slowly exploring the tank and realized Michael was right. "Yeah, she is."

_And so are you_ , he thought. Instead, he offered him a pizza roll, and he took one.

"So, uh, who was counting food? If you want to talk about it."

"I dunno, I guess it was just the one guy. He had me and this other girl back in middle school. He said he calculated the exact number of calories each of us needed, and that's all we were allowed. He didn't actually calculate shit, just didn't want to feed us properly. He was in it for the money. We both stole food to share anyway, but he caught her and almost killed her. So... Yeah."

Alex took one more pizza roll and handed the plate with the rest to Michael silently.

"You're done?"

"Yeah." He was too sick from that story to eat any more, and Michael looked pretty hungry. Alex reached into the tank cautiously, and Beagle went right to his hand and let him take her out. "The girl in the reptile store info dumped about snakes on me."

"She dumped on you? Gross," Michael said through a pizza roll.

"You're gross," Alex lied flatly. "Anyway, it was interesting. She talked for half an hour, but I hardly remember any of it."

"Was she cute?" he wondered.

"How would I know?"

Michael looked at him from the corners of his eyes. "Thought cute people could tell each other. Like you pick up cute vibes."

Alex frowned at him, confused. "Is that like, a gaydar joke?"

He popped another pizza roll. "No, I'm asking if you, as a cute boy, thought she was a cute girl."

Alex's brain ground to a halt. Michael thought he was cute. His crush. Thought he. Was cute. He could melt.

"And you got a cute snake, which only adds to my evidence. So was reptile store girl cute?"

"I g-guess?" Alex stammered as Beagle moved along his arm. "She really likes snakes, so I guess Nora was cute, yeah."

Michael nodded and finished off the plate. "All right, I'm kinda starting to hate that word. What _do_ you remember about what she told you?"

Alex relayed the more important stuff, but he quickly realized Michael was only watching the snake slither over his hands with a hint of jealousy. "Do you want to hold her?"

He blinked and shook his head. "Sorry, I tuned out a little. No, I'm good."

"What were you thinking about?" Alex asked as he put Beagle back in her tank. He took another water bottle from the bag and gave it to Michael.

"Um, it's kind of awkward, but I don't really know who else to ask."

Alex flipped through the reptile pamphlet. "Okay, what is it?"

"Can people be, like, half gay?"

His eyebrows shot up, and he looked at Michael, who apparently found the floor of the shed very interesting, rolling the bottle so it crinkled. "What do you mean?"

"Like can someone be gay _and_ straight?"

"I'm pretty sure those labels are mutually exclusive."

"But I feel like both, like there are girls I like and there's--" Michael cut himself off when he caught his eye. "That's not a thing?"

Alex could suddenly feel his own heartbeat. Michael was attracted to boys. He could be attracted to _him_. His crush wasn't for nothing, he had a chance. He worked quickly to reassure him. "Sorry, it is a thing, it's just called bisexual. That's being attracted two or more genders. It's not half of anything."

Michael let out a breath as if he'd been holding it. He tried out the word. "Bisexual. Yeah. Wait, there are more than two genders, too?"

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. "It's not binary. I don't really get it, myself, but that's what I'm told. I haven't met anyone nonbinary yet, that I know of."

He grinned. "Well, the more genders, the merrier, right? It's good to have a word for it. Thanks, Alex."

He was being hugged and hardly knew it before Michael was back to cooing over the snake.

"No problem," he said faintly, eyeing Beagle as well. She was gaining a sort of lucky feeling. Michael being bi was the best possible news next to Michael actually shoving his tongue down his throat, which Alex absolutely couldn't think of for too long, so he banished the thought immediately.

"I was wondering about you and the Evanses. You're really close. Are you guys related?"

Michael shook his head. "We were just found together when we were little. It's a... shared experience relation. But we think they're really twins."

"Huh." The trio certainly acted like siblings. The twins were both in Alex's AP English class. Isobel would draw in her notebook. Max knew the answer to everything. "Your brother is a giant nerd."

Michael laughed. "You're damn right. He knows how to pronounce all those obscure Russian authors' names. He's trying to write a book."

"Is it any good?" Given all of Max's meta in class, he thought it should be.

"Maybe if he ever finishes it. He keeps doing short stories instead." Alex tapped on his chin absently, and Michael shoved his shoulder playfully. "You into my brother? 'Cause he's not into guys."

Alex snorted. "No, he's into Liz Ortecho. He's too tall for me, anyway."

"Liz! I keep trying to tell him he's sooo obvious. Everyone knows but Liz."

"Oh, no, Liz knows, too. She's just trying to make it work with Kyle."

"Ugh."

"Yeah, I know. But he used to be okay. A long time ago. Liz says good things, and maybe he's still in there somewhere, but..." Alex shook his head. Last time he and Liz spoke, she'd been excited about dress shopping. "You going to prom?"

"Isobel would kill me if I didn't, so I'm going with her and Max. She's put a lot of work into it, it should be fun. Are you?"

He hadn't really wanted to, but now he did, even if Michael already had a date. Maybe he could convince Maria to go with him. Hell, if he got to see Michael in a tux, he'd go alone.

"Yeah, maybe." He poured some water in Beagle's bowl, then pulled the lid over her tank. "I'm gonna go do my homework. Be nice to Beagle. There's more food in the bag for you if you want."

"Alex," Michael said, hesitating as he stood up, too, and grabbed his arm. "I know it's screwed up, but this is the best place I've ever lived. Thank you."

Alex took and squeezed the hand that gripped him. "Sure thing, Guerin," he said softly, and he left before he could softly do anything else to him.

 

* * *

 

Alex finished his statistics assignment and resisted the urge to go back to the tool shed immediately. Instead, he went to the computer in the family room. That way, his dad would come home and see him working and hopefully leave him alone.

His brothers, at least, thought he was a relatively good musician, but they still told him to have a backup plan. Programming and coding computers was getting big, so he was trying to teach himself what he could. Just in case.

His father came home as he fought with Java, and he could feel his eyes burning him, taking note of what was on the screen, then his father went to the kitchen. Alex let out a quiet breath and kept working until his dad came back to watch tv with a beer in his hand. That was his cue to save and shut down the computer.

He found leftover rice and chicken in the fridge, enough that he could say he was just really hungry if he was questioned about its absence. Michael was making him paranoid. He dropped an extra fork into his hoodie pocket and watched the microwave. He opened the door right before it beeped. He took one paper bowl since he could eat out of the Tupperware.

Michael was lying on his back, staring at the ceiling, a spiral notebook open on his stomach. He was playing with his own hair, and Alex was struck with just how badly he wanted to do the same. He jerked up when he heard the door open.

"Just me. Brought dinner." He nodded at the notebook as Michael made room for him. "Whatcha studying?"

"You don't have to feed me, I'm okay," Michael started.

"So am I, and these leftovers aren't gonna eat themselves." Alex poured half the rice and chicken into the bowl and gave it to Michael, who had no choice but to accept it or drop it on the floor, which he would never do. "Really, it's too much for me, and it'd be a waste of fridge space to leave less than this in it."

"Fine," Michael grumbled.

Alex took the second fork from his jacket and dug in with slightly less vigor than the boy beside him.

"What're you studying?" he asked when Michael picked his notebook back up.

"Um, myself?" he answered awkwardly.

"Your--" Alex caught the word bisexual underlined on the last page before he closed the book. "Oh."

Michael grinned. "I don't have a family medical history, and I'm... Me and Isobel and Max all have a fear of doctors. Latrophobia, it's called."

"Oof, you're really not going to like Kyle, then. He's going to medical school." Their "shared experience" must've been indescribably terrible for all three of them to have the phobia. He shuddered to think.

"Already really don't like him." Michael dropped the notebook in his bag haphazardly. "Anyway, I like to know things, so I keep track of what I can."

Alex nodded and finished his own dinner, then he knelt beside Beagle's tank to take her out again. Michael took out his physics textbook like it was light reading. "Do you mind if I hang out in here with you guys for a while?"

He eyed Beagle with the ghost of a frown. "Go ahead."

Alex sat back down beside him, and he tried to make sense of that look. "Are you scared of snakes?"

"No," Michael said, glancing up. His eyes lingered on the snake in his hands before returning to the textbook. "Um, I've just never really been around any pets. I don't want to scare _her_."

Alex held out his hands. "Try. There's no reason you would scare her."

Michael swallowed thickly and leaned over his text, his hands held open the same way. Their fingers brushed, and Beagle moved curiously to the new set of hands. Her tongue tickled his skin as she went, making him laugh a little, before she quickly curled up.

Alex smiled at him. "See? She likes you."

Michael smiled back, and if that wasn't the most beautiful thing Alex had ever seen... No, he had only just learned the word bisexual, he had to give him like, at least a day.


	2. Before They Lost Rosa

Or like, three weeks, whatever. It was difficult to _make_ something organic happen. Michael "borrowed" his guitar again after prom, though, and that gave him the idea to dig around his brother's room and find one of their old guitars.

Natural, organic, timing's right, and there was nothing Alex wanted more then than to be part of Michael's quiet.

But Michael turned away from him and focused on the guitar.

Alex bit down the rejection as faint chords drifted through the tool shed. Michael strummed with uncertainty. When the sting went away, Alex knelt beside Beagle's tank and carefully put her in his jacket pocket. "See you later," he mumbled.

He paused. "See you."

Alex fell asleep with Beagle on his belly after venting to her under his breath for an hour straight and praying to any god that'd listen that he hadn't ruined everything.

By the time he made it back to her tank in the morning, Michael was gone. He covered Beagle's tank with a towel. Alex had to go to work.

The longer he sat in the ticket booth, the more he convinced himself that Michael hated him, which was irrational, he wouldn't hate him for that, lots of people tried to kiss Michael and he didn't hate any of them--

Okay, Alex, slow down, he told himself. He was turning into a dramatic one man soap opera. He just had to get through his shift, and if Michael was in the tool shed when he got home, he could apologize, and they could at least be friends. Yeah.

That's what got him through most of his boring shift, until it was Michael himself tapping on the window, asking to talk privately.

They did not talk, and at the risk of sounding like a Cascada song, Alex swore he could fly.

Alex never wanted to stop kissing him, but the damn sign he put up _did_ say five minutes, so he hauled Michael into the ticket booth with him. "I get off in thirty minutes."

"I'll get you off in about thirty-five," Michael retorted, hopping up on the opposite counter. Alex tried not to think about that.

"Why'd you change your mind?"

"I got scared last night," he admitted, looking down.

"Of-Of me?"

"No! God, no, I just, I can't help but be suspicious when people are kind to me. I was somewhere else. Then you left and I thought you were mad at me."

"I wasn't mad at you. I was mad at myself."

"I should have kissed you then," he whispered.

Honestly, Alex was only half in the ticket booth - the rest of him was still in the back, replaying that make-out with Michael Guerin like it was the only memory he had.

"You more than made up for it."

"We could've been doing that all night!"

Ah, good, another thing he couldn't think about if he wanted to do his job.

"And today I was having lunch with Max, and he said he's gonna ask Liz out, that she's worth fighting for, and... that's how I feel about you, so here I am."

Alex turned his head. "Guerin, you're making it very difficult for me to keep my job right now."

All he had to offer was a smirk, but at least he stopped saying stuff that made Alex feel things. Michael found Alex's backpack and flipped through his statistics textbook absently.

It was the most agonizing half hour of his life so far.

The next chump in a plastic visor squinted at Michael, then at Alex, who shrugged and took his textbook back. "He was waiting for me, I didn't want to make him wait outside. Come on."

He'd hardly shut the door and noted the empty lobby when Michael was kissing him again. Alex turned them and gently pushed him against the wall, so as to make as little noise as possible. Their hands were everywhere, and when Michael slipped a hand in the waist of his jeans, Alex remembered where they were.

"Not here, come on," Alex said breathlessly.

Michael bobbed his head. "Wherever you want."

"Shed," he said, not even thinking about the fact his father would get home in about an hour. He just needed Michael in a bed, though preferably a more comfortable one than the one attached to his truck.

Michael drove a bit fast, even normally, and when he parked in his usual spot, he took advantage of the bench seat to kiss Alex again.

"Inside," Alex said, even though he made no effort to stop kissing him, either.

Eventually, they made it in.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex had never really understood people when they referred to feeling fireworks while sleeping with other people. Until Michael.

It was a mess, but it was perfect. And he would have laid close to him for much longer, but he remembered something vital. "My dad's gonna be home soon."

Which had him getting dressed as quickly as possible but only made Michael whine. Alex leaned over to kiss him, play with his hair for a moment, before pulling his shirt back on. Michael finally got up and put his pants and shoes back on, frowning around in search of his shirt before seeing it across the room. He stopped to rub Alex's shoulder.

That's when it all went to hell, because that's when his dad opened the door. Alex's only thought was to shield Michael from him, because Michael had had enough shit in his life. There was no way to hide what they'd done. The smell hung in the air. Still, he stood between him and Michael. He had the hammer. Alex was going to get hit, fine. Michael should run while that happened. Could he think it loud enough to get him out of there?

Suddenly they were both on the other side of the room. "No!"

The sound of Michael's hand shattering was something he knew instantly would haunt his nightmares. His father raised the hammer again, and Alex jumped forward from where he'd been frozen. He went for his legs and destabilized him enough for Michael to stumble into the door, curled over his hand.

"Go!" Alex said. Michael shook his head minutely, looking between him and his dad even as his eyes watered. "Please."

Alex was thrown off and Michael was pushed out the door with a slam of finality.

By the time his father left the shed, he was in too much pain to chase after Michael, who was hopefully far, far away, or go to his room. He crawled across the floor and pulled the towel off of Beagle's tank. He rolled it up for a pillow and leaned against the cool glass, glad that she, at least, had escaped his dad's notice.

"How can this be both the best and worst day of my life?" His voice rattled, but he knew his dad was always careful to not actually break anything so that he wouldn't have to go to a doctor.

Alex sat up too quickly when he remembered Michael's phobia. His hand needed to be set by a professional. He needed x-rays and a cast done by a professional. He put the towel back over the tank and forced himself to get up.

He felt nauseous and dizzy, but he made it to Michael's abandoned shirt. Alex picked it up and nearly puked bending over. He had to hold it together, he had to make sure Michael went somewhere for his hand.

He went outside and saw the truck still parked across the street. The relief he felt at the sight was inhuman. Alex could just barely make out in the remaining daylight that Michael was chugging something. Alex looked back at the house, but he could hear the tv so he crossed the street as quickly as he could without falling over.

"G-Guerin," he said, and Michael jumped, looking around wildly. He settled down when he saw Alex. Alex nodded at his mangled hand and finally did puke. When he straightened back up, he said, "You have to... go to a hospital."

"I can't," he said emphatically, sounding every bit as sick as Alex did. He had another t-shirt on, somehow.

"It's always gonna hurt if you don't. I can-- I can go with you, if that'd help."

Michael shook his head; the rest of him was shaking, too. "No doctors. I can't. I c-can't."

Alex grimaced and leaned on the truck door. He wasn't going to convince him in this state. "Okay. Okay. No doctors."

"Are _you_ okay?" Michael asked quietly.

There was nothing funny about being asked that by someone who was still actively oozing blood, but Alex laughed anyway, because otherwise he was going to cry harder. "It's nothing that I haven't dealt with before. Guerin, hey. We need to stop the bleeding. Move over." Alex climbed up once there was room for him and ignored the blood as best he could.

Michael sniffled when Alex showed him his shirt. "Do you care about this, can I rip it up?"

"Do it," he said, and he leaned back against the seat and tried to remember to breathe. He suddenly undid his belt as Alex shredded the shirt, because he knew even touching his hand was going to make him scream, let alone putting enough pressure on it to stop the bleeding.

With the shirt torn, Michael held out his shaking hand to Alex and put his belt in his mouth.

All Alex could say for the next ten minutes was, "I'm sorry." Every time he flinched, or hissed, or shoved his head into the headrest. "I'm sorry, Guerin."

He ran out of shirt and was sure that wasn't nearly enough to be okay, but Michael spat out his belt and _thanked_ him.

"No, don't, it's my fault, I should have known when he was getting home."

Michael looked at him blearily. "Not your fault at all, Alex. You did know and you tried to get me dressed. You got me away, you wrapped me up. I'd kiss you now in celebration, but you just threw up like fifteen minutes ago, and I draw the line at puke kisses."

His laugh came out a strangled sob. Michael cracked a smile, too, despite the clear pain he was in. "That's reasonable. Do you have any painkillers?"

"Yeah." He opened the glove box and dug out a bottle of aspirin. "You need any?"

Alex shook his head. They watched each other for a minute. Michael leaned over and kissed Alex's cheek.

"I'm gonna go to the junkyard. I can rig a space heater and sleep in here. You wanna come?"

Alex desperately wanted to keep Michael where he could see him, but he knew if he didn't stay on the property, he'd come back to far worse punishment. He made sure Michael's hand wasn't between them and hugged him tightly. "Have to stay here. I'm sorry. You need to redress that and wash the blood off tomorrow. Okay?"

Alex felt him nod, and he pulled away, only to rest their foreheads against each other. "Yeah, I'll be okay. Stay safe."

"That's my line."

He heard Michael take a deep, shaky breath. "Oh, screw it," he said, and pulled Alex into a kiss with one hand on his neck. It was short and sweet, though Alex knew he tasted like stomach acid, and whatever Michael had been drinking tasted like nail polish remover. And then Alex was getting out of the cab, fully aware he needed to brush his teeth.

Michael drove off as soon as Alex was across the street. He watched until he couldn't see him anymore.

He snuck into the bathroom at the back of the house, farthest from the tv, and did what he could as quickly as possible. He found Michael's blood on his shirt, too, and pulled it off. The most he was willing to risk was going to his room to get something to sleep in. Comfy as his bed looked, Alex went back out to the shed once he changed and had more clothes for tomorrow.

He needed Beagle's company. He took a water bottle from the grocery bag, then scooped the snake out of her tank and laid back on the bed. She made herself comfortable on Alex's stomach, and he whispered to her.

"That can never happen again. We can never be in that position. I need... I need to learn how to overpower him." His dad had decades of military training on him, and though he had never wanted to enter the military, maybe getting the same training was his best bet.

He didn't really like the idea. He would rather stay with Michael. He would if he asked. Maybe they could get a place together, away from his father. Maybe.

Alex squeezed his eyes shut and tried to sleep, but all he kept seeing was his father holding Michael down over and over.

He wanted the memory of the museum kiss back in his brain on repeat. He held onto it like it was sacred, like it could shine through the pain. That the sheets still smelled like Michael helped a little, and he held onto that, too.

Eventually, Alex fell into a fitful sleep, but he was right about the noise haunting his nightmares. It kept happening in front of him so many times that he lost count, and still, he was frozen in place every time, even though he knew what was coming.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex woke up to Beagle's tongue flicking against his neck. He returned her to the tank.

There was an order taped to the shed's door. _CLEAN THIS._ Clean the blood his dad had spilled. Blood on the workbench, blood on the floor where Michael had dripped.

Alex quickly shut the door and hurried down the street. He'd do that later. He wanted to check on Michael, but he didn't want to sacrifice another shirt, so he stopped into the pharmacy. It'd be more sterile, too. Several packs of gauze, an ace bandage, some alcohol wipes...

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Alex blinked at the message from Liz. _Have you seen Rosa?_

That was a text he hadn't gotten in a while. _No, sorry,_ he replied. _Hope she turns up soon._

Alex made for the junkyard with his supplies. Hopefully Michael's hand hadn't gotten infected overnight. He found him, but he hadn't rigged up a space heater; Alex realized he probably needed both hands for that. He was asleep in the cab, so Alex knocked on the window gently. Michael jerked awake and winced when his hand glanced off the radio.

For a moment, it was like Michael didn't recognize him. Then he smiled brightly and opened the door for him. "Alex! Whatcha doing here?"

He held up the gauze. "You don't want that infected. You'll lose your whole hand."

"That _would_ be no bueno." He slid down the bench again, and Alex again ignored the dried blood on the steering wheel. Michael picked up his belt from the floor. "I think it's better already. Who even needs doctors?"

Alex carefully unwound the cotton strips he'd done last night. The layers in direct contact with his skin stuck to the blood, and he did his best to ease them off, but Michael ended up with his belt between his teeth again.

"I think you should see a professional," Alex said carefully. He did his best to gently wipe off his blood with the wipes, but Michael involuntarily pulled his hand away every three seconds.

"No," Michael groaned around the leather.

"Guerin, your hand is shattered."

Alex paused his ministrations when Michael took the belt from his mouth and looked at him. "I know. I still can't."

He attempted to outweigh that fear. "You won't be able to play guitar anymore."

"Rock star's overrated," he said, but Alex could tell the thought caused him pain. Still, he tried to distract from that. "I'll just be your groupie."

"I don't think you could ever _just_ be anything to me." He tried to hold Michael's elbow in place and finish cleaning him up. "Even if it doesn't get infected, if the bones don't heal right, you're not going to have much use of it."

"It's my left hand," Michael said flippantly.

"You're left handed!"

"I'm ambidextrous. I just thought being left handed was cooler. It's _okay_ , Alex. I'm not going to the hospital."

He could only stare at him incredulously. He was not going to get through to him. Suddenly, Michael's hand clenched, and he sunk into the headrest with a hiss. Alex worked quickly to cover his hand in gauze and wrap the pressure bandage around him.

"How's that?"

"Hurts like a bitch, but not as much as last night." Still, Michael smiled at him, so bright and happy even though all Alex could feel was guilt. "What? Hey, did he hurt you bad?"

Michael searched his face, his good hand on his neck, when Alex shook his head. "He hurt _you_."

Michael shook his head too and pressed his lips to Alex's forehead. "I could never stand there and watch you be a punching bag. Not when I've heard it through the walls and had to fight every fiber of my being from going in and pulling you away. Nope. Not right in front of me."

Alex leaned over and kissed him shortly. Whatever alcohol Michael had been drinking soured in his mouth, and Alex pulled away and patted on his jaw. "Don't be a hero. I don't want to see you hurt, ever. And what the hell have you been drinking?"

Michael picked up a half empty gallon bottle of whiskey from the floor with a grin. "Want some?"

So he was self-medicating, fine. How else was he going to kill the pain? Alex shook his head, and Michael shrugged and took a big gulp. Alex rubbed his shoulder soothingly and tried to think.

"I've gotta go clean the shed before work. After that I'm gonna try to Google more ways to help you. Okay? You need to rest. And drink water, too."

Michael rolled his eyes and picked up a jug of water to shake at him. "Okay, Mom."

"Have you told your siblings about this?"

He frowned. "They saw it last night. I got the whiskey from them. I told them it was from a bar fight."

"Get some _food_ from them, and don't make that worse, Guerin. I already can't forgive myself--"

"It's not your fault!" Michael couldn't hold his face between his hands, but he got as close as he could, the bandage rough against Alex's ear.

"If I wasn't the way I am--"

"I'd rather have a crushed hand and like you than have a whole hand without you."

Alex set his jaw. How could he even say that? "Guerin, I mean it. Don't do anything that could make that worse. I'll bring you dinner."

He whined. "I don't wanna wait 'til dinner to see you again."

"I don't want to leave," he said, and kissed him quickly. "But you need to rest. Please."

"Fine, fine. Is Beagle okay?"

"Yeah, he didn't see her."

"Good."

"But I have to clean the shed, so I have to move her or he'll find her."

Michael nodded and squeezed his hand. "Stay safe."

Alex backed out of the cab with a nod. "You too. See you later."

 

* * *

 

He stopped into the reptile store on the way home.

"Alex, morning!" said Nora, "Are you here for a friend for Beagle?"

"Ah, no, I was wondering if I could bring her back-- not permanently, just for a couple days! I have to clean out the room she's in, and I don't have anywhere else to put her."

"No offense, but that sounds like bullshit." Nora frowned deeply. "It's something else."

"Please, Nora, I'm here because I care about her, and I know you do, too. I want to keep her safe."

She straightened seriously. "Of course I can keep her safe, but if you don't come back for her by next week, know that your address is on file, and I will hunt you down."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Alex smiled at her. "Her room will be ready again by then, I promise. Thanks."

"Shop is open til five today."

He nodded and made that his first order of business. He walked back with Beagle in his pocket, and Alex kissed her little snake head before handing her and her tank over.

"Alex," Nora said as he turned to go.

"Yeah?"

"It's none of my business, but..." She leaned over the counter. "Keep yourself safe so you can come back for her."

He nodded. "I'll be back."


	3. Before School

Alex brought the grocery bag back inside from the shed and put the food in it back in the kitchen. He grabbed a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and got to getting the blood off the work bench.

It was later, as he cleaned off the door, that his cell phone rang. Why was Liz calling? He flipped it open, only to hear her crying, which was more confusing.

"Liz, what happened?"

"R-Rosa d-d--" His stomach dropped as she took a deep, gasping breath. The rag he was holding dropped, too. 

"I'm so sorry, Liz. Where are you?"

"H-Home." Her phone moved away from her mouth, and Liz let out a grievous scream.

When it was against her ear again, Alex said, "Maria?"

"N-No, can you bring-bring her?"

"I'll be there soon."

She hung up, and Alex picked up the bloody cloth from the ground. He returned the peroxide and threw the rag away.

This, he knew, was one of Liz's worst fears. As wrecked as she was, Maria wouldn't take it any better. 

Alex found her in the Wild Pony, Mama DeLuca teaching her about booze. Maria looked bored. Her mother looked at him when he came in and frowned. "Oh, no," she said, a hand over her heart.

Maria looked between them. "What?"

Alex pulled her into a tight hug. "Liz called me. It's Rosa."

"Wh-What?" She squeezed him in confusion. 

"Maria, she's--"

"No!" She pushed him away roughly and ran out of the building, no doubt straight to the cafe.

Mimi walked around the bar and hugged him. He thought he was all cried out after last night, but in her arms, he shed more tears. He didn't even know Rosa that well, but he could already feel Liz and Maria's pain.

She gave him a couple minutes before smoothing back his hair. "It's not the end for her or any of us." Then she smiled and pulled him in again. "That wasn't what I meant by beagle, you silly boy."

He let out a strangled laugh. "Why are so many awful things happening at once?"

"Things are always happening. Some days, many good things happen at once. Some days, it's both. It's all leading to a moment of light."

Alex sighed. He supposed yesterday was both. Mama DeLuca kissed the top of his head.

"Come on, let's go to the Ortechos."

The cafe wasn't open. Arturo sat at one of the stools, the very image of a haunted man; Liz and Maria were hugging each other and sobbing just inside the door, practically on the floor. 

Mimi went to comfort Arturo, and Alex pulled his two best friends up, only to be pulled into their very wet hug. 

"What happened?" he got out.

"Car accident," Liz said. "Really bad."

"I'm sorry."

Alex wished he could stay there and support them all day, but he had to work, or at least go ask to have the day off. The owner was sympathetic and let him go. He ran back to the Crashdown. It was still closed, but Liz's dad had made them all milkshakes and let them pick at the unused tray of bacon, fried before they got the news.

The girls had moved to a booth and though they were holding each other up, they both looked like they might break again at the drop of a pin. 

"Something good happened to you. Distract us," Maria said shakily as soon as he sat across from them. Liz nodded in agreement.

So, in an effort to keep them from crying, he told them he'd kissed his crush. 

They both smiled through their tears. "Go on," said Liz.

Alex was all too glad to go back to that memory. His face went dreamy. "Well, I was at work yesterday, and he came up and wanted to talk, like, privately. You guys know the UFO exhibit with the stars and the planets?"

The girls nodded in unison.

"We were in there, and I was like, talk, but he just-- he kissed me. It was like magnets. It was like magic. My mind was playing Cascada, qué embarrassing. I could stay forever if he just kept kissing me." 

They giggled at that. 

"I kissed him more after my shift--"

"You made him wait until your shift ended!" Maria reached over and swatted his arm, and he was just glad they were cheering up.

"I wanted to take him home," he said, low enough that their parents at the counter couldn't hear. "And I did."

"Aww," said Liz. "Was he good?"

Alex tried to cover his blush, but he knew his whole face went red, and the girls both made another, "Aww."

"Are you gonna see him again soon?" Maria asked.

"I saw him this morning. I was gonna bring him dinner, but if you need me to stay--"

"No," Liz snapped. "You're gonna go see museum guy and be happy. Kiss him extra for us."

He nodded and gripped each of their hands.

 

* * *

 

 

When Alex left hours later, the girls had taken over the jukebox, crying over Rosa's favorite songs and dancing terribly together. Arturo watched them sadly, and Mimi... Mimi seemed to be someplace else altogether. 

"Remember, extra kisses! Ay!" Liz called after him, and Alex waved in acknowledgement. 

First, he went home. He had said he'd Google a way to help Michael, and he did. Comminuted was the word for it, and treatment for that included a bone graft, which he definitely couldn't do. So he was going to buy more gauze and once again try to convince Michael to go to the hospital. He stopped at a fast food restaurant to get them dinner.

He was awake and opened the door for Alex when he arrived, but he once again looked like he didn't recognize him. 

"Hey, Guerin," he said.

Michael blinked and rubbed his forehead, then finally smiled at him. "Alex!"

He offered him the food first, and Michael ripped into the bag as he slid across the seat. 

"You doing okay, Guerin?"

"Yes. You got the shed clean?" Michael asked through approximately fourteen fries.

"Yeah. Did you have lunch?"

"Isobel brought me a sandwich. And chips." He kicked at a brown paper bag on the floor. "Calm down, Mom. Just because I'm an artist doesn't mean I'm starving."

Alex pushed at his cheek. "I am not your mother."

"No, that'd be weird. But I bet you're the mom friend."

He sighed at the thought of Maria and Liz back in the diner. 

"What?"

"Sorry, just, Liz's sister, Rosa--" Alex's voice cracked. "She was in a wreck last night, so I was with them earlier."

Michael dropped his fries with an unfathomable expression. "Oh. I'm sorry, Alex. Did you know her well?"

He shook his head. "She's Maria's best friend. She... I think everybody knows she had a drug problem, but she was in recovery. Liz thought she was really gonna get sober this time, but I guess she relapsed."

Michael wiped his hand on his pants and reached for Alex's. "Sorry," he said.

Alex squeezed back. "Thanks." He let his hand go so they could both eat. "I didn't tell them it was you, but they knew I had a big crush on somebody. I told them about the museum yesterday."

"Oh?"

"They want me to kiss you extra from them."

"Well, if they insist," he said, and Michael pulled Alex across the bench to kiss him hard.

Unfortunately, they eventually had to stop to breathe. Alex could feel the pure giddiness again. Michael grinned and surreptitiously stole fries from Alex's bag. 

"You didn't have to daze me, I would have just given you some."

"I know, but that was more fun." He balled up the empty bag and put it inside the brown one. "You can tell them it was me if you want."

"I didn't want to out you without your permission." Plus, he thought it might be a slightly startling realization given Michael's girl kissing streak. Best wait until they settled down.

"Mmm, that's sweet of you. If you trust your friends, I trust your friends."

Alex added his own bag to the brown one and held out his hands for Michael's left hand. "Lemme see."

"What did Google tell you, Doc Alex?"

"That comminuted fractures need bone grafts to heal correctly."

Michael made a face. "Sounds like surgery."

"Let me take you to a hospital, Guerin," Alex said as he unwrapped the bandage from Michael's hand. His head dropped to Alex's shoulder and he pressed his lips into his sleeve.

"No hospital, no doctors."

"What about a, a vet?" Alex asked desperately.

Michael laughed, but that quickly turned into a squeak as Alex peeled the gauze away. At least it wasn't bleeding anymore. "Vet's still a doctor."

"It's gonna scar. Looking at it now, you're probably not going to be able to move these two fingers at all."

He shrugged as Alex replaced the gauze. "I haven't been looking at it. Anyway, chicks dig scars. Do you like scars?"

"I'm not a chick."

"I know, that's why I asked. Do you?"

"Not when they're caused by my asshole father." Alex gently wrapped his hand back up and looked at him. "I don't want him to leave a mark on you."

Michael's hand found his cheek, and he dragged his thumb there. "I appreciate that, but I am not going to the hospital or a veterinarian or any doctor. I know it's going to hurt, I promise I understand that, and I literally cannot go."

Alex covered his hand with his own and let the hospital thing go. "Okay. I don't like to see you in pain, but I'll shut up about it."

"It  _ is _ nice to hear someone care enough to say so."

He held Michael's left arm out of the way as he pressed forward to kiss him, to convey just how much he cared. Tangled hands in hair and a distinct warmth flowing through him, because Michael was conveying the same thing back.

It quickly got dark, and he broke off. "Do you have a curfew or anything?"

"Not exactly. Should probably get home by nine, though."

Michael flipped open his phone to check the time with a blank expression, then he tossed it to the floor with the rest of his things. "We got some time, then. Do you want to--"

Alex assumed the last part of sentence was "make-out" and he was glad to push Michael down into the seat and make him moan into his mouth.

"Yeah, that," he said when Alex moved down his neck.

 

* * *

 

 

Alex wanted to check on Liz and Maria before he went home, so he climbed out of Michael's truck at eight thirty. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"Uh-huh," said Michael, breathing heavily. "If I can get out of this crater, 'cause you just hit me like a comet."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm awesome, thanks." He pulled himself up to smile and wave. "See you tomorrow."

He nearly ran into Max Evans as he left through the front gate. "Hey," Alex said.

Max looked confused by his presence. "Hey. Uh, is Michael in there?"

"Yeah. Max, I know you're latrophobic, too, but if you can, please convince Michael to go to the hospital. I think he's going to lose most of the functionality in his hand."

Max nodded woodenly. "I'll see what I can do."

The brown paper bag he was holding rustled, and Alex hoped it was Michael's breakfast. "You're a good brother."

"He's the good brother," he mumbled, and drifted toward Michael's truck before Alex could say anything else. He watched until he got there, then he hurried away to the Crashdown.

 

* * *

 

 

There was no sign of his friends, and Arturo was talking to the sheriff at the booth they'd occupied earlier. Alex waved at them and went to Mimi, still at the counter.

"Did you have fun?" she asked nonchalantly. 

He nodded with a small smile. "How come you never predicted him?"

"I did," she said, tapping him on the forehead. "I just didn't tell you. You have a connection that... that you have to figure out for yourselves."

Alex nodded again. To hear her say they had a connection - well, he knew, but it was good to hear. "Where are Liz and Maria?"

"Asleep upstairs already. I'll let them know you came back. We're not going to make them go to school tomorrow, so stop by after if you don't see them, okay?"

"Okay, I will." He turned to see that Jim Valenti was also preparing to leave, and he was measuring Alex with a look. He was suddenly conscious of his bruises and the way he was standing. "Good night."

"Hold on, son. Let me give you a ride." He looked to Arturo. "I mean it, if you need anything, give me a call."

The sheriff rested a gentle hand on Alex's shoulder and guided him out to his car. "I haven't seen you in a long time, son. You've gotten big. Are you doing all right?"

"Yeah," he lied, though he ached to tell him everything. This was the father he wished for. When he and Kyle were still friends, he definitely preferred him. He was sure the sheriff pegged his lie, but he didn't push him.

"Still playing acoustic?"

"Yeah, been writing songs and everything. Gonna be very famous, Sheriff."

Jim smiled at him, but it faltered. Everyone seemed to be affected by Rosa's death. Anyone with a teenager ought to be, he reasoned. "That's good. I can't wait to buy your CDs."

The patrol car pulled into the Manes driveway next to his dad's car. "Thanks for the ride, Mr. Valenti."

"Of course. And Alex, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to call me."

Alex nodded and went straight to the shed to sleep. 


	4. Diatribes on Day One

The morning at school was weird. The air was vibrating. Alex figured out why when the morning announcements mentioned three girls, not just Rosa.

He had a bad feeling, but at least Liz and Maria had stayed home and didn't have to hear the bullshit that was spreading. In English class, he barely registered how the twins had pushed their desks closer together and seemed to be scheming.

Alex found Michael towards the end of lunch, reorganizing the bed of his truck one-handed and muttering under his breath.

"All right, Guerin?"

Would he ever not jump when he greeted him? Michael sat heavily and patted the space beside him. He looked tired. "Hey, Alex."

He hopped up close enough that their thighs touched and automatically took Michael's left arm between his hands.

"Did something happen?"

Michael leaned against Alex's shoulder and shook his head. "Isobel was annoyed with the state of my truck."

"It _is_ pretty terrible, but I feel like you have a good excuse." He ran his fingers up and down Michael's arm gently. Michael pressed a kiss to his shoulder. Alex looked around furtively for witnesses before he pecked Michael on the lips. "How's your hand?"

"Feels like ground beef. Incidentally, there are tacos in the cafeteria today."

"Does joking about it make it hurt less?"

Michael grinned. "Nope. What if I said kissing you does?"

"Here? Where any number of jocks could come streaming in from the field at any minute and surround us like a horde of brainless zombies?"

Michael pushed against his shoulder. "We could take 'em."

"But imagine the emotional toll."

"Hmmmm." Apparently the only way he could imagine it was by kissing Alex up his neck. He never would have taken him for being so affectionate, but he loved it. "Yeah, you're right," he said, though that didn't make him take his lips off his jaw.

The only thing that made him break contact was the cafeteria door being thrown open and a sharp voice yelling, "Michael!"

"What now, Iz!" he shouted back as Alex ducked down to make it look like he'd been staring at the sky.

He felt her weight lean against the side and looked over. She smiled at him pleasantly. "Hello, Alex."

He waved in equal pleasantness and focused back on the clouds.

Michael touched his shoulder gently after a moment. "Sorry, Alex, it's sibling stuff. Thanks for hanging out with me. See you later?"

Alex nodded and climbed out of the truck. They didn't start talking until he was well out of earshot, so he went back into the cafeteria, where it turned out that Liz and Maria _had_ come to school, just quite late. Alex went to them immediately and squeezed himself in between them carefully to help hold them together. Max and Kyle were also at the table trying to comfort them, even though Liz had broken up with the latter at prom. Right now they had a common purpose.

"Doing okay?" Alex asked.

"I shouldn't have come in today," Liz said, burrowing under Alex's arm. Maria reached around him to squeeze her shoulder. "They're saying horrible things about Rosa." She went off on a Spanish rant, which was too fast and through too many tears for any of them to understand.

Everyone at the table reached for her.

 

* * *

  

Michael was waiting for him after the last bell, his eyes finding Alex as soon as he left the building and waving him over. He made sure Liz and Maria were all right before he jogged over to the truck's door. He leaned his elbow on the door.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." Michael nodded at the girls. "How's Liz?"

"Devastated. The racists aren't helping either, as if _all_ of those girls hadn't been high. Any of them could have been behind the wheel." Alex sighed and noticed Michael appeared immensely uncomfortable. "Sorry. I'm sure she'll be fine, eventually. It's just frustrating."

"No, yeah, she's got you and DeLuca." Michael wrapped his good hand around Alex's wrist. "If you're even half as nice to her as you are to me, I think she'll make it. Do you wanna go for a ride?"

He nodded and walked around to the passenger door. "Where we going?"

Michael buckled himself in and made sure Alex did the same. "How about somewhere there's no chance we get surrounded by a horde of zombies?"

"Sounds good to me."

He drove to the junkyard, a route he was no doubt beyond used to, and parked behind a pile of scrap. He didn't even take the keys out before he surged into Alex.

He was reminded of what he'd told the girls, that he'd stay put if Michael would just keep kissing him. There were a few music scholarships he'd applied for since there was no way in hell his father was going to help him pay for it. He'd wanted to get the hell out of Roswell, as far from his father as possible.

When they took a pause from making out, Alex asked, "Where are you going for college? UNM?"

Michael looked out the windshield like he was embarrassed. "I was going to, but I'm gonna stay in Roswell. Isobel gets bad anxiety if she doesn't know where me and Max are. Why?"

"I _really_ like kissing you, Guerin."

"Yeah?" Michael laughed and that did things to Alex's heart. "I really like you too. I mean, kissing you."

"I know what you meant. I was just thinking, one of my options is to go to the community college here for my Associate's, then go somewhere else for music theory." It was cheaper, though he doubted he'd still be allowed to live at home. Still, tuition at a university's a bitch, so the longer he could avoid that, the better.

"You're going to stay for a while?"

"Unless you stop kissing me."

"Not a chance," Michael said, and they were making out again.

They were interrupted by Michael's phone, and he groaned as he took it out. "I'm sorry. It's Isobel again."

"It's all right," Alex said, thinking of what he'd said about her anxiety. "I'll still be here."

Michael smiled and answered the phone. "What, Iz?"

Alex suddenly found that the denim on Michael's thigh needed patterns drawn on by his fingers.

"I'm not."

Michael gently pushed Alex's fingers away with his free wrist, so he took over his left arm instead.

"Okay. Okay, Iz."

Alex found the extra gauze he'd brought and started redoing the wrap compulsively.

"I'm a little busy right now."

His hand still looked bad, but it wasn't infected, either, and he supposed that was the best he could hope for if he refused to go to the hospital.

"Yeah, I know that, Iz," he said softly. "I know. Can you try to convince him first?"

He held the phone away and rolled his eyes at Alex, then whispered, "Thank you," as he finished up rewrapping his hand.

"Mhm."

Michael put the phone back to his ear. "Okay, I'll talk to him first thing in the morning, can I please get back to what I was doing?"

He sighed and pushed back against the car seat when she evidently didn't let him go.

"Yes, I'm on a hot date! See you tomorrow!" Michael snapped his phone shut and tossed it beneath the glove box with the rest of his stuff. "Sorry, Alex."

He couldn't help the smug expression he felt on his face. "Oh no, tell me more. I'm a hot date?"

"You know you are."

"Yeah I am. I'm on a hot date, too."

"When does my hot date turn into a pumpkin?"

Alex snorted. "I should get home before my dad today, so like, another hour."

"I can work with that."

"Work with--"

Oh, _that_. There wasn't really enough room in the cab, but they made do.

 

* * *

 

Alex stopped by the Crashdown again before he headed home. It was still closed, but Liz let him in as she let Max out. The girls he understood looking distraught, but he couldn't figure out why Max had the same expression.

"I can't stay long," he told Liz as they sat at the counter with Maria. She had her head buried in her arms. "How are you guys?"

Liz was still fanning her angry fire. "Why do we have to be so much better than white people to even matter?"

"Because racism, Liz," Maria said through her arms, as if she'd told her that more than once already. She looked up at Alex and poked his jaw. "At least one of us is having fun."

"What?"

"What!" Liz turned him and examined his face. "Oh my god! Museum guy gave you a hickey!"

"Shit," Alex said, covering where Maria had poked with his hand. "I didn't even realize. Can I borrow some foundation, Liz? My dad can't see this."

Both the girls stood up and dragged him to Liz and Rosa's room, where they dutifully ignored Rosa's side and sat him in front of the vanity. He saw more pink marks down his neck.

"A lot of fun, huh?" Maria said, leaning over him. "How did you not notice?"

"Maria, please, I'm literally gonna die," Alex replied, his face heating up.

The girls stared at him in the mirror with wide smiles before Liz finally opened her makeup box, and Alex held out his hand. "No, I'll get it for you. But I'm letting you borrow this on the condition you give us _one_ detail."

He slowly lowered the hand covering the mark. He was good with eyeliner, but Liz worked magic with the foundation. "I went to his."

Maria frowned. "That's not a detail."

"I think we might love each other."

Liz dropped her brush, and Maria squeezed his arm. "That isn't either but whoa!"

He handed the brush back to Liz but kept his eyes down. "I've never felt anything like what I feel with him."

"Aw, museum guy, makin' Alex get all poetic and emo."

"Stop," he said, but he couldn't stop his smile.

"It's a big deal!" Liz brushed a final streak of powder down his neck. "There. You are unblemished as a virgin queen."

Alex rolled his eyes, but he was still grateful. "Thank you."

"De nada, Alex," Liz said, planting a smooch in his hair.

"We like to hear your good news about museum guy," Maria said with a nod. "I'm gonna be the maid of honor, right?"

"Not if you say stuff like that when we've only been seeing each other for three days!"

"Oh, right. Feels like longer."

"Since you've had this crush for like a year."

"If you're gonna say stuff like that I'm not even gonna invite you to this hypothetical wedding," he teased. He stood and hugged them both tightly. "You guys would definitely be in any hypothetical wedding party of mine."

"Good."

"Bueno!"

After a moment holding them both there, like he knew they needed, Alex said, "I gotta get home before my dad."

"All right, one more check." They looked him over carefully before nodding their approval. "You're good to go."

"Thanks again," he said, and hurried back downstairs.

Arturo caught him in the hallway and smiled at him sadly. "I thought you were the Evans boy come back. Thanks for keeping the girls company."

"Thank you for letting me," he stammered.

He only patted Alex on the shoulder and let him go.

 

* * *

 

Alex made it home before his father and checked the shed first. The note taped to the door was gone, so he assumed he'd done a satisfactory job. He brought his clothes back inside. Still, he wanted to wait to pick up Beagle, just in case. Leave the shed truly unoccupied a few days.

He hadn't done any programming over the weekend, so he worked on that. In between practice codes, he searched for someplace cheap to live after graduation.

Alex cleared the relevant browser history when he heard the front door open and focused solely on the website teaching him about terminals.

"Alex," his dad said.

He turned his chair to face him. "Yes?"

"I'm sure this was clear, but if you're not going to Basic like your brothers, you're going to have to find somewhere else to live once you turn eighteen."

He bit down a sharp retort and merely said, "Okay."

"They're coming home for your graduation. Don't disappoint us."

 _You_. Maybe his brothers were taken in by their father, but they didn't hate him for who he was like he did. They couldn't stand up to him, either, but they were the ones who pitched their money together and bought him his first guitar when he was little. His brothers wouldn't be disappointed, and he hoped his father would go to his grave and straight to hell disappointed in Alex. He didn't want his approval. He wanted to defeat him.

Liz's makeup held up as his dad finally went to the kitchen to get his usual. Alex saved his work, shut down the computer, and slunk to his room.


End file.
